WASHINGTON — Federal regulators will issue a decision by March 8 on Montana Rail Link’s request for permission to discontinue service over 656.47 miles of track in Montana and Idaho as part of the early termination of its lease with BNSF Railway.
In a decision released today, the Surface Transportation Board accepted MRL’s petition, set the March deadline, and said any comments on the proposal would be due by Dec. 28.
The railroads announced in January that BNSF bought out the remaining years of Montana Rail Link’s 60-year lease on the former Northern Pacific main line. Terms of the deal between BNSF and MRL owner The Washington Cos. were not disclosed. But a BNSF financial report suggests the railroad paid MRL around $2 billion to tear up the lease well before it was scheduled to expire in 2047.
Once regulators approve the transaction, BNSF will resume control of the former Northern Pacific main line between Huntley, Mont., and Sandpoint, Idaho, which predecessor Burlington Northern leased to MRL in 1987.
BNSF will take over operations and maintenance of the leased routes, as well as service to MRL’s 125 customers. BNSF has reached agreements with the unions representing MRL employees.
BNSF also plans to resume service over certain MRL-owned branch lines under a trackage-rights agreement that will be the subject of a separate board proceeding, MRL said in a regulatory filing last month.
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